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The mine was first recognized by Willian Burford Braden in 1920. One of the largest copper deposits in the world, production in 2012 was forecasted at 390 tons of copper and 28,000 ounces of gold.<ref name=Hawley>{{Cite book |author=Charles Caldwell Hawley |title=A Kennecott Story |publisher=The University of Utah Press |year=2014 |page=109,111}}</ref>
The mine was first recognized by Willian Burford Braden in 1920. One of the largest copper deposits in the world, production in 2012 was forecasted at 390 tons of copper and 28,000 ounces of gold.<ref name=Hawley>{{Cite book |author=Charles Caldwell Hawley |title=A Kennecott Story |publisher=The University of Utah Press |year=2014 |page=109,111}}</ref>

==Geology==
"Los Pelambres is both a typical and a very simple [[porphyry copper deposit." The [[Upper Miocene]] [[tonalite]] [[stock (geology)|stock]] is a north-south oriented oval, 4.5 by 2.4 km in size, which has undergone [[hydrothermal alteration]]. The stock [[intruded]] into [[andesite|andesitic]] host rocks. [[Glaciation]] during the [[Pleistocene]] carved the [[U-shaped valley|U-shaped Los Pelambres valley]]. The head of the valley has the highest concentration of [[ore]] in a [[Roche moutonnee]]. A core of potassium silicate alteration contains the economic copper-molybdenum [[mineralization (geology)|mineralization]]. [[Sulfide minerals]] include [[chalcopyrite]], [[bornite]], [[pyrite]] and [[molybdenite]].<ref name="Sillitoe">{{cite journal|last1=Sillitoe|first1=Richard|title=Geology of the Los Pelambres Porphyry Copper Deposit, Chile|journal=Economic Geology|date=1973|volume=68|issue=1|pages=1-10}}</ref>


==See Also==
==See Also==

Revision as of 12:53, 13 May 2016

Los Pelambres mine
Location
Coquimbo Region
CountryChile
Production
ProductsCopper
History
Opened1990

The Los Pelambres mine is a large copper mine located in the central-northern of Chile in Coquimbo Region. Los Pelambres represents one of the largest copper reserve in Chile and in the world having estimated reserves of 4.9 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.65% copper.[1]

The mine was first recognized by Willian Burford Braden in 1920. One of the largest copper deposits in the world, production in 2012 was forecasted at 390 tons of copper and 28,000 ounces of gold.[2]

Geology

"Los Pelambres is both a typical and a very simple [[porphyry copper deposit." The Upper Miocene tonalite stock is a north-south oriented oval, 4.5 by 2.4 km in size, which has undergone hydrothermal alteration. The stock intruded into andesitic host rocks. Glaciation during the Pleistocene carved the U-shaped Los Pelambres valley. The head of the valley has the highest concentration of ore in a Roche moutonnee. A core of potassium silicate alteration contains the economic copper-molybdenum mineralization. Sulfide minerals include chalcopyrite, bornite, pyrite and molybdenite.[3]

See Also

References

  1. ^ "Minera Los Pelambres, Chile" (in Romanian). mining-technology.com. 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
  2. ^ Charles Caldwell Hawley (2014). A Kennecott Story. The University of Utah Press. p. 109,111.
  3. ^ Sillitoe, Richard (1973). "Geology of the Los Pelambres Porphyry Copper Deposit, Chile". Economic Geology. 68 (1): 1–10.
Location of the Los Pelambres and El Teniente copper mines in Chile